Putin: Deploying military force is last resort, but we reserve right

Russia will not go to war with the people of Ukraine, but will use its troops to protect citizens, if radicals with clout in Kiev now try to use violence against Ukrainian civilians, particularly ethnic Russians, Putin told the media.

Putin, who was given a mandate by the Russian senate to use
military force to protect civilians in Ukraine, said there is no
need for such an action yet.

Putin cited the actions of radical activists in Ukraine,
including the chaining of a governor to a stage as public
humiliation and the killing of a technician during an opposition
siege of the Party of Regions HQ, as justification for Russia to
be concerned for the lives and well-being of people in eastern
and southern Ukraine.

Incidents like those are why Russia reserves the option of troop
deployment on the table.

“If we see this lawlessness starting in eastern regions, if
the people ask us for help – in addition to a plea from a
legitimate president, which we already have – then we reserve the
right to use all the means we possess to protect those citizens.
And we consider it quite legitimate,” he said.

Russia is not planning to go to war with the Ukrainian people,
Putin stressed, when a journalist asked if he was afraid of war.
But Russian troops would prevent any attempts to target Ukrainian
civilians, should they be deployed.

“We are not going to a war against the Ukrainian
people,” he said. “I want you to understand it
unambiguously. If we do take a decision, it would only be to
protect Ukrainian citizens. Let anybody in the military dare, and
they’d be shooting their own people, who would stand up in front
of us. Shoot at women and children. I’d like to see anyone try
and order such a thing in Ukraine.”

Putin dismissed the notion that the uniformed armed people
without insignia who are currently present in Crimea are Russian
soldiers. He said they are members of the Crimean self-defense
forces and that they are no better equipped and trained than some
radical fighters who took part in the ousting of Yanukovich.

He assured that the surprise military drills in Russia’s west
which ended on Tuesday had nothing to do with the Ukrainian
situation.

When asked how he sees the future of Crimea, and whether the
possibility of it joining Russia is under consideration, Putin
answered “No.”

“Generally, I believe that only residents of a given country
who have freedom of will and are in complete safety can and
should determine their future. If this right was granted to the
Albanians in Kosovo, if this was made possible in many different
parts of the world, then nobody has ruled out the right of
nations to self-determination, which, as far as I know, is fixed
by several UN documents. However, we will in no way provoke any
such decision and will not perpetuate such sentiments,”
Putin stressed.

Sanction threats are counterproductive

Asked about criticism of Russia over its stance on Ukraine, Putin
dismissed the accusations that Russia is acting illegitimately.
He stated that even if Russia does use force in Ukraine, it would
not violate international law.

At the same time he accused the United States and its allies of
having no regard to legitimacy when they use military force in
pursuit of their own national interests.

“When I ask them ‘Do you believe you do everything
legitimately,’ they say ‘Yes.’ And I have to remind them about
the US actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, where they acted
either without any UN Security Council mandate or through
perverting a mandate, as was the case in Libya,” Putin said.

“Our partners, especially in the United States,
always clearly formulate for themselves their geopolitical and
national interests, pursue them relentlessly and then drag the
rest of the world in, using the principle ‘You are either with us
or against us.' And harass those who refuse to be dragged
in,” he added.

As for the sanctions Russia faces over Ukraine, Putin said those
threatening them should think of the consequences to themselves
if they follow that path. In an interconnected world a country
may hurt another country if it wishes, but it would be damaged
too.

Threats are counterproductive in this situation, Putin warned. He
added that if G8 members choose not to go to Sochi for a planned
G8 summit, that would be up to them.

Putin sympathies with Maidan protesters, rejects coup

Putin stressed that the Ukrainian people had a legitimate reason
to protest against Yanukovich’s power, considering the
overwhelming corruption and other faults of his presidency.

But he objected to the illegitimate way his ouster took place,
because it undermined the political stability in the country.

“I strictly object to this form [of transition of power] in
Ukraine, and anywhere in the post-Soviet space. This does not
help nurturing a culture of law. If someone is allowed to act
this way, then everyone is allowed to. And this means chaos.
That’s the worst thing that can happen to a country with an
unstable economy and an unestablished political system,”
Putin explained.

He said that while he personally was not fond of months-long
streets protests as a means to pressure the government, he
sympathized with the Maidan demonstration members, who were
genuinely outraged with the situation in Ukraine.

But at the same time he warned that what happens in Ukraine now
may be a replacement of one group of crooks with another, citing
the appointments of certain wealthy businessmen with questionable
reputations.

Asked about the presence of snipers during the violent
confrontation in Kiev last month, Putin said he was not aware of
any order from the Yanukovich government to use firearms against
the protesters. He alleged that the shooters could have been
provocateurs from one of the opposition forces. He added that
what he was sure of is the fact that police officers were shot at
with lethal arms during the confrontation.

Yanukovich is certainly powerless in Ukraine, but legally
speaking he is the legitimate president of the country, Putin
said. The way the new authorities in Kiev replaced him did not
enhance their credibility.

Asked if he felt for Yanukovich, Putin said “Oh, no. I have
absolutely different feelings.” But he declined to publicly
explain what those were. He also refrained from commenting on
what mistakes he saw in Yanukovich’s actions, explaining that it
would not be proper for him to do so.

At the same time Putin does not see any political future for
Yanukovich, which he told the ousted Ukrainian president himself.
He added that Russia allowed him to come to its territory for
humanitarian reasons, because if he remained in Ukraine he could
have been summarily executed.

Equal participation in Ukraine's future for all Ukrainians

The Russian government is currently engaging with the
self-proclaimed govern of Ukraine with the goal of preserving
economic ties between the two countries. However, any normal
relations would only be possible after Ukraine has fully
legitimate branches of government, Putin said. He considers that
he has no counterpart in Kiev now, so he personally has no
partner to communicate with.

The Russian president stressed that Russia wants to see equal
participation of all citizens of Ukraine in defining the future
of the country. The resistance to the authorities in Kiev, which
is evident currently in the eastern and southern Ukraine, shows
clearly that currently Kiev does not have a nationwide mandate to
govern the country.

“Frankly, they should adopt a new constitution through a
referendum so that all citizens of Ukraine feel engagement in
that process, have an input on the formation of the new
principles of how their nation should function,” Putin
suggested. “That’s certainly not for us, but for the
Ukrainians and the Ukrainian authorities to decide this way or
another. I believe after legitimate government is formed, after a
new president elected, after a new parliament is elected, they
should return to this.”

Russia will be watching the planned presidential election in
Ukraine, Putin said. If it is conducted in an atmosphere of
terror, Russia will consider it unfair and will not recognize its
results, he warned.

Putin commented on the issue of Ukraine’s territorial integrity,
which Russia committed to preserve. He said that Western powers
reject Russia’s assessment of the events in Ukraine as a coup and
insist on calling it a revolution.

Some Russian experts, Putin warned that if Ukraine had undergone
a revolution, then the nation that came out of it is not the same
that it was before, similarly to how Russia transformed after the
Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.

If this is the case, Moscow may consider itself no longer bound
by any treaties it has with Ukraine, Putin warned.